Well, friends, it's been a few days, but we have brought a new chapter! We realize that we forgot to add a little note at the beginning of the last chapter! From the responses we got, though, we are forgiven for the lapse. :) Thanks to everyone who posted reviews on Chapter Six. Trust us when we tell you that we were just as affected by writing it as you seemed to be reading it! (some more than others!) Now that we've rattled on for a minute, here's Chapter Seven! Please let us know what you think.

Thanks,

JF&KMA

7

Neela lay quietly in his arms, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. She closed her eyes and, for once in her life, just let herself live in the moment. There was no past, no future. There was only this moment with him. With his hands lightly stroking her back, her head tucked beneath his chin, there was nothing that could touch them. He loved her, and God knew that she loved him. She'd been running from her feelings for so long, but now, with him, she couldn't remember why she had ever denied them.

"Neela?"

"Yes?" she whispered back.

"We have to get up. Emily and Brett will be back soon."

She groaned and snuggled closer to him.

"And I have to talk to you before they get here," he added with a chuckle. He kissed her temple and untangled from her. She propped up on her elbows to watch as he pulled on boxers and sweats.

"What?" he asked, when he caught her looking.

She grinned and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure we have to?" she asked suggestively. He laughed and crawled up the bed to kiss her deeply.

"Keep looking at me like that and we'll never leave here," he growled. He kissed her again then pulled away with a groan. "Come on, babe," he said as he rose and left the room.

Neela dressed, hating the fact that real life was intruding, but that was the way things went. If real life didn't intrude once in a while, no one would ever leave the bedroom. She pulled one of his shirts over her head, feeling the blood rush to her face. Especially where Ray was concerned, she thought. With that image in her head, she left the room to join him in the front room.

He handed her an open beer when she settled herself beside him on the couch.

"Thank you."

"No problem," he said, draping his arm across her shoulders. He took a drink before he continued. "Are you on duty tomorrow?"

"Yes, but not until 10."

He nodded. "I'm on at noon," he said ruefully. "I have to take Emily to the hospital anyway, but I was hoping she wouldn't have to be there all day."

"Why are you taking her to the hospital?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," he answered tightly, spinning his bottle in his hand. "I talked to Wendell today about Emily. She wants to see her."

Neela pulled back a little to look at him. He wouldn't look at her, but she could sense the turmoil within him.

"What did she say?" she asked slowly. "Did you tell her everything?"

He nodded, staring down at his bottle. Then he laughed sharply.

"It was one of the most painful experiences of my life, but I told her."

Neela drank, keeping her eyes on his face. "What made you think of her?"

His expression lightened and he gave her a half smile.

"Abby. She was tired of listening to me be an ass hole."

Neela laughed in spite of herself, and his smile turned sheepish.

"I damn near took Frank's head off when I went in today, and I guess I only got worse. Abby told me to talk to Wendell if it was that bad."

"It was a good idea, I gather?"

"I'm not sure yet," he said, his smile fading to a slight frown. "We'll have to see what happens."

Neela frowned in perplexity. "Wendell is a social worker. If there is even suspected abuse, she is required by law to report it."

"It's been reported before," he said bitterly.

She reached out to touch his arm. "This isn't Philadelphia," she said quietly.

He blew out a breath and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Emily told you?"

"Yes. And she told me that your father is a lawyer."

"Yet another thing that he and I never saw eye to eye on," he said, leaning his head on the back of the couch. "I was supposed to go to law school. Carry on in the family business. When I chose med school instead, he hit the roof. Luckily, I had scholarships so he couldn't yank the financial rug out from under me, but he wouldn't give me a dime for anything extra." He shook his head and brought the bottle to his lips. "Like I wanted anything from him."

Neela winced at his cold tone.

"Things are different now," she said soothingly. "This is Chicago, not Philadelphia. Wendell is very good at what she does. It won't be like it was."

He nodded, but seemed far from convinced.

"You know what the worst thing about it is?" he asked softly. "He's always had the money to get out of anything. I remember when the neighbors would call the cops after the shouting started. Dad would go to their house after the police left, talk to them for a minute and come home. The next thing you know, that neighbor had a new car or was going on vacation." The light in his eyes was dulled when he looked at her. "I learned really quick to just keep my mouth shut."

"What about your school?" she asked. "Surely one of your teachers would have…"

"I went to a private school," he broke in. "Very posh, very expensive. Do you think they would say anything against one of their richest clients?"

Neela could only stare at him, wishing she could take those horrible memories away. It tore her apart that she couldn't.

"Wendell was telling me about the laws that apply to this type of situation." He scrubbed at his head with his hand. "The man is a lawyer, Neela. He knows how to get around the legal crap." He laughed shortly. "Legal crap is what he does best."

He was silent for a long time. Neela let him have his silence, giving him time to gather his thoughts. She leaned back on the couch and rested her head on his shoulder, waiting patiently for him to continue.

"I'm scared, Neela," he finally whispered.

She turned her head to look at him, a hard weight settling in her stomach. Ray Barnett was admitting to fear? It drove home how very much he truly did love her. The fact that he could confess such a thing to her was more precious to her than any hollow flattery would ever be.

"What are you afraid of, Ray?"

"That he'll find a way to get out of this. That he'll take her back and make her suffer for what I've done." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I guess I'm just afraid that I won't …I'm afraid that I'll fail."

"Look at me, Ray," she ordered, scooting to the edge of the cushion. He looked at her in surprise at her harsh tone. "You won't fail," she continued and gave him a smile. "You have me, and you have friends at the hospital that would help if only you would let them. You have to learn to lean on someone other than yourself, you stubborn ass."

He searched her eyes for a moment before pulling her into his lap.

"You're one to talk," he said smartly. "Little Miss 'I can do it all by myself'."

"I can, most of the time," she shot back, pleased that her taunt had succeeded in drawing him out of his mood. She let him hold her against him and relaxed a little

"If this is really gonna happen…if I can pull it off and Emily stays," he continued, "I'll have to make some major changes. I'll have to enroll her in school here. I'll need to change shifts so that she's not alone here for too long."

"I'm sure that if you talk to Dr. Carter and explain the situation…"

"Oh yeah," he said sarcastically. "I'm looking forward to that little conversation."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "It'll be fine."

Just then, the door opened up and Brett and Emily came bounding through like a couple of puppies. Neela scrambled off Ray's lap, but not before Brett had seen. He shot her a knowing look then grinned.

"So!" he said too brightly. "What have you two been up to? Did you…talk?"

Neela rolled her eyes and caught Ray's grin behind his hand.

"We came to an understanding," she said primly.

"An understanding," he echoed then shrugged. "Is that what they call it in England?"

The look she gave him should have shut him up, but of course he ignored it, swaggering across the room.

"Remind me to take a trip there someday…"

"Shut up, Brett," Ray said in warning. He turned, pinning Brett with his fiercest frown. Brett grinned a held his hands up to ward him off.

"You know I'm just giving you crap." He turned to look at Emily. "I'm outta here, Brat. You stay out of trouble."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm more worried about you than me," she said.

He laughed. "I'll catch your act tomorrow. Remember, Barnett, we've got a gig tomorrow night."

"Yeah."

With a muttered "later", he was gone, sweeping out just as he'd come in; like a hurricane. Neela couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief when the door closed behind him.

"Your friends," she said tiredly, rising to toss her empty bottle in the garbage.

"They're never dull," he offered, giving her a crooked grin.

"God forbid," she muttered, turning to Emily. "So what did you two get up to?"

"Angelo's," she said promptly. "It was great!" She looked at Ray and smiled. "You have some interesting friends."

Neela couldn't stop the laughter that burst from her.

"Just wait until they all show up here for their show tomorrow night. Then you'll see interesting."

Ray shot her a sour look, as Emily's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What's the joke?"

"Never mind," Ray said quickly. There would be time later to tell her exactly what kind of music he played. "Right now, you need to sit down. We need to talk about a few things."

She stiffened, but then found her way to the sofa. Falling back into the cushions, she gave him a sullen pout.

"What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything," he said in exasperation. "It's what you need to do." He glanced at Neela for support, and she sat on the arm of the couch beside him. "I have to take you to the hospital tomorrow," he said slowly.

"Why? I'm not sick."

Ray leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. By the panicked look on her face, he could tell that this was going to be even harder than he'd thought.

"I know you're not sick, honey. I'm not taking you there for that. There's someone I want you to talk to. I think that she can help us."

"Help us how?" she asked suspiciously.

"She can help us find a way to let you stay with me."

She relaxed a little, chewing at her lower lip.

"Who is she?"

He took a breath and braced himself for the storm that was about to drop on his head.

"She's a social worker with County."

"No! I'm not some basket case!" she cried out, jumping to her feet. "I don't need to talk to a shrink!"

"She's not a shrink! She's someone who investigates abuse cases. She can help you…help us. With her behind us, you'll be able to stay with me." He added the last with more confidence than he felt. He wasn't at all sure that she would be able to stay with him. There was a lot to do before he could even begin to have some assurance of that. At the moment, everything was too precarious for him to feel confident that he could keep her with him.

"Emily," Neela broke in, placing her hand on his shoulder. "What Ray means is that she will listen to you. She'll believe you... But you have to tell her the truth. Show her the bruise on your arm. She will believe you."

Emily's gaze bounced from Ray to Neela and back again.

"She'll believe me?" she asked hesitantly, falling back onto the couch.

Ray nodded. "She believed me when I talked to her this afternoon." He scooted closer to her and gave her a hard hug. "This isn't Philly, squirt. He can't do here what he did there."

She took a deep breath before she looked at Neela.

"You think I should talk to this woman?"

Neela nodded gravely. "Yes, I do. It's the best and quickest way to have this done with." Neela wasn't sure that the happily ever after scenario was achievable, but it would allow Emily the opportunity to make it so. Ray had been dealing with the same demons for years and was only now allowing them to be exposed to the light of day. But if there was a way for this to turn out for the benefit everyone, then Wendell was the one tostart with.

Emily closed her eyes and lowered her head. They waited in silence while she considered what they had said. Ray forced air into his lungs when he found that he was holding his breath. Everything hinged on Emily. If she was hostile when she spoke to Wendell, it could all fall apart, and she would be shipped back to Philadelphia. He didn't want that. He wanted her to have what he'd never had, a real home.

"All right," she said softly, lifting her head to look at him. "If you say that she can help, then I'll believe you."

He pulled her close and gave her a hug.

"I'll be right there with you, sweetheart. All you have to do is tell the truth."

She nodded. "What about Neela?" she asked, and shot her a pleading look. "Will you be there, too?"

Neela glanced at Ray and their gazes locked. She furrowed her brows in question, and she could clearly read the answer in his eyes.

I want you there, Neela…

"I'll make the time," she answered firmly, and he gave her a grateful smile.

"We'll both be there every step of the way, Em," he promised. "Now why don't you try to get some sleep? It's late and we've got a long day tomorrow."

"It's not that late…" she began, then grinned, her eyes darting between the two of them. "OK. I get the hint." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek bounded from the couch. "Good night."

Ray sat there for a minute after she was gone just staring after her. He looked at Neela in confusion.

"What just happened?"

Neela laughed softly and took his hand.

"She's a teenager, Ray. Don't you remember being a teenager?" She paused, and then laughed harder. "You should. She acts just like you."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Really," he said dryly. "Are there any other little observations you would like to make about my behavior, Doctor?"

She hopped off the arm of the couch when he rose and began stalking her across the room. She grinned, backing away toward his bedroom.

"Only that I cannot believe that I'm in love with a man that wears black eyeliner."

"That's it," he growled, and vaulted over the couch. He drove in low, catching her around the middle and throwing her over his shoulder. He kicked the door shut as he took her into his room and dropped her on the bed. They were both laughing as he fell down on top of her, but their laughter quickly faded as he began to kiss her, leaving them both breathless.

"By the way…" he began, nuzzling her throat.

"Yes?" she breathed.

"You forgot that I wear black nail polish too." He lifted his head to give her that puppy dog look that always got to her. "Do you still love me?"

She smiled and pulled him back down, giving himher answer in her kiss.